The present invention relates to a connector for use to connect a flexible circuit board to a relatively rigid printed circuit board.
Some types of electric connectors known in this field of art are designed each to connect a flexible circuit board to an electronic device, the circuit board being for example a flexible printed cable (FPC) or a flexible flat cable (FFC). Basically, a housing of the known connector has an accessible space in which a plurality of contacts are disposed at regular intervals and in parallel with each other. The known connector comprises also a pressing means that overlies conductive arms of the contacts. This means will be opened and closed to press the flexible circuit board at its end onto these conductive arms. Examples of such a prior art are disclosed for example in Utility Model Laying-Open Gazette No. 6-77186, Japanese Patent No. 3029985 and ibid. No. 3075707 (that corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,572).
Generally, those prior art connectors are divided into two groups, that is, the so-called cover type and the so-called slider type. The pressing means in each cover type connector is constructed to swing relative to the housing. In contrast, the pressing means in the slider type is capable of a sliding displacement on and along the housing. From another viewpoint, the prior art connectors for flexible circuit boards are usually of the so-called ZIF (viz., xe2x80x9czero-insertion-forcexe2x80x9d) structure that does not need any noticeable force to pull out the flexible circuit board temporarily placed in the connector, although the Non-ZIF structure is also employed in some cases.
In the connectors of ZIF structure, each flexible circuit board will be put on the conductive arms of contacts at first, but will not be retained in place in any manner until the pressing cover or slider is then operated to take its latching or locking position. Those flexible boards are thus likely to move away from their correct target position due to vibration or the like external force imparted to them, thereby failing to ensure a reliable electric connection. In order to avoid such an undesired displacement of the flexible circuit boards, every operator has to hold them in place with one of his or her hands, while operating the pressing cover or slider with his or her other hand.
The other type connectors of Non-ZIF structure comprising the swing-able pressing cover may be used to diminish this problem. However, the flexible circuit boards having been placed on their target position will not necessarily be surely kept there, also in this case. Rotation and/or rocking of the pressing cover being operated will possibly cause to some degree such an undesirable displacement of said flexible boards as in the case of using the connectors of ZIF structure.
Whichever type the connector for flexible boards is of, its restraint for each board depends on the number of contacts or conductive portions thereof to which it will be pressed by the pressing means. If a pulling force or a transverse pushing force is imparted to the flexible board retained in any connector, then the board will possibly tend to slip off the connector or displace itself a transverse distance. The smaller the number of contacts is, the more serious is such a tendency to cause the problem.
In order to avoid the problem of displacement or slipping off of the flexible circuit boards, apertures or recesses may be formed in them and correspondingly the connector housing may have bosses or latch pawls formed therein. Connectors of this type are disclosed for example in Patent Laying-Open Gazettes No. 10-106694 and No. 2000-182697. Such a latching mechanism will however give rise to another problem that if an extraordinarily strong pulling force accidentally acts on the flexible board, then it or the connector itself will be damaged or broken.
An object of the present invention made in view of these drawbacks is to provide a connector having contacts for a flexible circuit board, such that once inserted in the connector to overlie conductive arms of the contacts, the inner end portion of the flexible board will elastically and temporarily be retained in place. Further, this connector has to be designed such that its pressing means is operable to force the flexible board into an ultimate fixed and pressed engagement with the connector.
In order to achieve this object, the connector provided herein for use with the flexible circuit board does comprise a housing and a pressing means, wherein the housing has a recess in which a plurality of parallel contacts forming a row and each having a conductive arm are disposed at a given pitch, and the pressing means is operable to open and close the recess such that as it closes the recess, the inner end portion of said flexible board overlying the arms will be pressed down thereto. Characteristically, the connector comprises a pair of reinforcement metals that face one another in the direction of the row and are attached to opposite sides of the housing, so as to be soldered to a relatively rigid printed circuit board, wherein each reinforcement metal has a resilient support for urging upwards the inner end portion of said flexible board in a direction away from the contacts"" conductive arms.
The resilient support smoothly continues from the basal end of each reinforcement metal in a cantilevered fashion, the basal end being located beside the recess of housing so as to face the inner end portion of said flexible board being inserted. The resilient support extends obliquely upwards at first into the housing, and is then bent downwards at its inner end region, such that this support generally assumes a reversed and depressed V-shaped in its side elevation.
The resilient supports may be of such a shape that they engage with apertures or cutouts formed in the inner end portion of said flexible board being inserted. In this case, the flexible board will more surely be protected from its slipping off and displacement on one hand, and any excessively strong pulling force or the like external force possibly imparted to the flexible board will cause an elastic deformation of the said supports on the other hand. Thus, said board will be released from its engagement with the connector, thereby protecting them from damage or breakage.
Each reinforcement metal may have, formed integral therewith, a generally semicircular bearing portion for rotatably supporting a fulcrum boss of the pressing means and reinforcing it.